Disclaimer: All of the characters that appeared on the TV show Dark Angel (Max, Zack, Logan, etc.) belong to their respective owners, not to me. No money is being made off of this fic. I only own the original characters (Becky/X6-405, etc.).

Becky was deep in thought as she picked at her dinner a few nights later. Her unit didn't seem to notice. They were still happy that they'd won their game of Capture The Flag that afternoon.

That one wall of Zack's cell runs alongside one of those big air ducts. If he can loosen a block or two and cut through the duct, he can crawl through it to the roof on that side of the building. It's only a three-story jump from that point, he can clear it easy. Max's cell, if I remember correctly... "Penny for your thoughts, 405?" 773 asked.

"Sorry," Becky said. "I was just trying to remember something."

"You've been quiet today," 570 said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Becky said. She managed a smile. "Some of my classes have been a real pain lately."

"Yeah, they've been tougher on us the last few weeks especially," 773 said.

"A guy in my field med class thinks that it's because Renfro's going though menopause and she's taking out on the trainers who are taking it out on us," 392 said, shrugging.

The rest of the unit groaned. "That's gotta be one of the lamest things I have ever heard," 058 said.

"Yeah," 367 said. "He's designed with an IQ way off the charts and that's the best idea he can come up with?"

"Let me guess...583?" Becky said.

"Yeah," 392 said.

"Sounds like him," Becky said. "He's got a juvenile sense of humor."

"At least we have Culture after dinner and then we're done with training and classes for the day," 115 said. "We end with something easy tonight."

"Yeah, two hours of sitting in a room learning different ways to tell people where to shove it," 029 said.

"I thought you liked this class, 029," Becky said, surprised.

"I do," 029 said. "At least I did back in Gillette. I can't stand the moron who teaches it here, though. Nag, nag, nag. 'No, 029, it's presented this way' or '029, formal etiquette does not include elbows on the table.'"

"Nah, I just think you suck at formal etiquette," 773 teased. That got a laugh out of everybody except 029, who just gave 773 a dirty look.

"Weather's starting to look nasty," 115 remarked.

"Think it's gonna rain?" 392 asked.

"The way it's looking? Hell yeah," 691 said.

"Definitely looks like the shit's gonna hit the fan," 367 said.

Becky looked thoughtful again. "You guys? Do you think it's gonna hit the fan? Around Manticore, I mean. I don't know about you guys, but I've been getting the impression over the last three months and especially these past few weeks, that there's a ticking time bomb that's gonna explode any minute and it's gonna be nasty."

"I know what you mean," 144 said. "Everybody seems to get just a little more tense as the days go by."

"I even heard that they're recalling most of us from the field," 887 said. "Just yesterday I remember seeing about 4 X5s come back from a mission they'd only been sent on last week, and someone in my psych warfare class told me that she'd seen a whole bunch of other X-series come back from solo missions."

"Maybe they decided this breeding program was of a higher priority," 058 suggested.

"Could be," 887 admitted. "But I think she said one of the Xs she'd seen coming back was 108 from Seattle X6 Unit 3 and none of the X6s are in the breeding program yet. Right, 405?"

"Right," Becky said. "Here's hoping we don't get shoved into the breeding program."

"Hey, it's an excuse to get laid!" 773 said cheerfully. That got him slaps on the back of the head from 691 and 029, who were sitting on either side of him. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Besides, it's not like you get to pick who you get to screw," 115 said. That got him a smack from Becky. "Damn, 405, not so hard."

"Men," Becky, 691, 392, 367, and 029 said in unison, which got them glares from 115, 773, 570, 058, 887, and 144.

"Like you could do without us," 144 said.

"You wish," 029 said.

The bell signifying the end of dinner sounded. "Saved by the bell," Becky said gratefully. "Come on, you guys, let's drag 029 to Culture."

"Hey!" 029 said, though she smiled.

They got up and marched out of the cafeteria. As she was leaving, Becky took one more look out the window. She shivered and shook her head and left the room with her unit, the uneasy feeling she'd had all evening still lingering.

Renfro sat at her desk sometime later that night, looking over files on her computer and tapping her fingernails against the desk's surface. Her phone rang. "Director Renfro here. Yes, I did see the broadcast he made this afternoon. Are you sure? He hasn't revealed the location yet. No, Lydecker is certainly a lot of things but he isn't completely stupid. If he's still alive, he wouldn't be caught near someone quite so high profile. I understand, it is better to be safe than sorry. Of course, it will be done within the hour. I will meet with you tomorrow at noon in the office. Yes, I'll see you then. Good bye."

"Director Renfro? I just wanted to let you know I'm leaving now," her secretary said, poking her head into Renfro's office just as Renfro hung up the phone.

"Very well," Renfro said. "Take tomorrow off, I won't be coming into the office myself."

"Thank you," the secretary said. She left.

Renfro shook her head and took out her cell phone, and dialed a number and began speaking in French to the person on the other end of the line. "Il est moi. J'ai juste reçu la commande pour brûler le service. Non, il ne nous a pas exposés réellement, mais le comité ne veut pas prendre une chance. Non, nous ne l'avons pas trouvé encore. Vous avez raison, si on le cense être alors lui ou elle survivra ceci.. Merci, bonne nuit." She disconnected and pressed a button on her intercom panel.

"Yes?" a male voice answered.

"Bring X5-452 to my office immediately," she ordered.

TBC